





THE GARDE NERS' CHRONICLE. 



295 



,_ Meanx, m which the petals are sur- 



I •• * "£ Inated leaves exactly like those of the 



f ^h.t instance the sepals had returned from their 



Edition to that of leaves, of which they are 



J transformation. 



in 



tlr«y« 



^ polyanthi 

 wfc-t U more 



Ft#. 4. 



poBirrion 



than to 



^.flower with 

 iU brown corolla 

 jarrounded by a 

 ring of cotnmoD 



Waves? Fig- < A 



ppteimen i« now 



£fore me from 

 Mr. Whiting, of 



vllea both calyx 

 tod aoreUa have 

 inderfone this 

 tnntfonnation. 



Wnhouldlike 



ILm •ppetrancc is to be accounted for, except upon 

 Supposition that the sepals, or leaves of the calyx, and 

 cWon leaves, are the same thing m different states 

 Bat it is useless to pursue this argument further.— Ii.E. 



AN AMATEUi^MELONRY. 



The following description of a Melon-pit which has 

 v for some time in successful operation may be 

 I -potable to the readers of the Gardeners' Chronicle. 

 Few persons, not professionally acquainted with the 

 fibjert knew with what ease, and by how small means, 

 a plentiful supply of Melons may be obtained, even rather 

 aerlv in tbe Tear. At the tables of little people this fruit 

 is not much in request till the supply of Strawberries 

 bcf ini to decline ; but before that time they may be well 

 tornubed with Melons, and so continue till long after 

 tbe late Vinery sends in its own abundant crop. From 

 time to time we have had details of the best methods of 

 beating by hot water and by steam ; and doubtless these 

 •re the best and perhaps the most economical where 

 Melons are to be forced out of season and in large quan- 

 tities; but where these means are precluded on the 

 •core of expense, or because well qualified persons are 

 not kept to manage them, a perfect method of making 

 the heat of fermenting materials available is still a deside- 

 ratum. In the invention of the pit here to be described 

 the wi iter's intention was to form a Melon-bed assimi- 

 lating is much as possible to the natural habitat of 

 tbe plant ; to insure a steady supply of warmth, a body 

 of earth not very quickly exhausted of moisture, and an 

 atmosphere free from noxious effluvia. These objects 

 bare been attained by very simple means, — so simple and 

 obvious as to make it matter of wonder that they have 

 ■ot been long in operation. The nearest approach to 

 them ha6 been the plan practised by Mr. Mills, with 

 which the writer was not acquainted till his own had 

 been some years at work. But Mr. Mills's pit is open 

 to the objection of allowing the dung to come near to, if 

 not in contact with, the bottom of his bed, and impli- 

 •rtw the necessity of care in the administration of the 

 heating materials ; whereas the one in question requires 

 no such care ; the ranker the fermentation, and the 

 coarser the materials, the better. All inequalities in the 

 heating process are made even by the thickness of the 

 nass f eart o, and the preservation of heated air beneath 



iws bott0m ° n which it; rests ' 



Beside the pit now to be described, the writer's means 



»re, the stable-dung of three horses,— two, or even one, 



"edout with leaves, Grass, or other vegetable rubbish, 



oo serve; a labouring gardener, only employed to 



SaW Wd take ° Ut linin S 8 > and to °P en and 6hut ' in 

 aoience of the principal, or a servant who occasionally 



Nat! •"^ EtU * a tnermomet er, to measure bottom-heat. 



*^ kui)* Tu be d ° ne withoufc a thermometer for bot- 

 99mt I , T ? e Hnings require to be turned, and to have 



when th*tK mXe<i in » two or three times in the season, 

 lett J tQ ermometer indicates a declension of bottom- 

 went 'on SUminer being a wet one the fermentation 

 once wh f C ,° nstantl y tQ at the linings were only turned 



«ies' of ea S6C ° nd cro P was P ut in ' AU the { l uack ' 

 be di«n*n J 081 ' S^dual earthing up, and so forth, may 



•eed-bec \ a WUb ". The P lants are taken out of the 

 More artifi 11 - i Ut * n like an y Cabbage, and require no 

 »»«inten«n r CUlture than sufficient pruning and the 

 laeaaa the an artificial climate implies. With these 

 c »»taiounp VVri i er has grown Melon s of the Rock and 

 w *>fbt whi Ik §e green va "eties, of from 3 to 6 lbs. 

 year he m Ve beea P r onounced " excellent." This 



^er Jn» n \ *? trv the Rock wood, and when he is 



Ctb «l tort? 1 w WitU them ' some of the Persian or 

 *°ild make'f Fe his pit t0 ^ re-constructed, he 

 ^centratio ! ( } uare in stead of oblong, for the better 

 Cooiin K efferf 1 f *' and less exposure of surface to the 

 ia *« Inin^V - s " rroundi ng media. At first he covered 

 n< *Pt for thV 0ak " 8 ! abs - But this is unnecessary, 



tidine 



elli, with k' U is P robable that the addition of 

 •**ld h» o« :' n e bed f °r the branches to spread on 



Hot 



a 



be an im "~* " Ca I0r the branches to spread _ 

 1 Jet thou?W PrOVement ' but ifc is a refinement he has 

 Moderate 8 , W , 0rth ado P tJ ng. With good stiff loam, 

 v 8«Ution nein ° f Water » and progressive healthy 

 tre * be dreaded 1 " Caaker > P*™Mte-fungus, nor insects, 



**■! BtyU of t r d ° r 8tartin g-frame is put down in the 



* ** ^ en ^ UCUmber * frame ! but it: would be better 

 ***' T bis i 8 a t v the fruitin S frames in the same 



two-light box, used for advancing Melon 



and Cucumber plants and tender annuals, and afterwards j every conceivable way within my power. These eiperi- 



applied to the growth of two late Melons. 



The Pit.— An excavation, 40 feet in length, 10$ in 

 breadth, and 3£ in depth, being made, and lined with 

 9-inch brick-work, is bottomed with small chalk, rammed 

 hard (any good material for a shoveling surface would do 

 as well.) Within this area three frames are constructed, 

 one of two and two of four lights, in the following 

 manner : — The outline being marked out, four courses of 

 4-inch brick-work, with cross-courses of the same, are 

 built pigeon-hole fashion ; on this is laid a platform of 

 thick slates, for a false bottom, on which the earth rests ; 

 six courses of close brick-work then follow, capped by a 

 thick curb of Oak. On this curb the wooden frame- 

 work rests, constructed in the usual way, but only deep 

 enough to allow of sufficient space for the plants to 

 respire, all the earth-bed being contained within the 

 brick-work. The length of the lights, or otherwise the 

 width of the beds, is a little more than five feet. More 

 room would be better ; but a narrow bed is convenient 

 for the amateur who wishes to train his plants himself ; 

 and this leaves ample space for working the dung linings 

 round the frames. 



It is obvious that Melons growing in such beds as 

 these know nothing of the dung that surrounds them, 

 but by the warmth they receive through the brick sides 

 and slate bottom ; and 18 or 20 inches of earth secures 

 their roots from sudden changes of temperature, and 

 affords a steady supply of moisture. The same body of 

 earth being dug and treated like an open garden bed, will 

 serve for two or three years without change. 



If the Editor thinks this plan of cultivating Melons 

 worthy of imitation, he will, perhaps, say that it is 

 feasible, and so give the sanction of a better name than 

 the writer's. — P. P. [No doubt can be entertained 

 about the good sense and practicability of this plan.] 



Section of Pit. 



SURFACE 



DUNC 



LININGS 



L 



EARTH 



FALSE BOTTOM 



S0RFACF. 



DUKC 



LININCS 



4 IS BRICK 



Home Correspondence. 



Disease in Peach-trees. — I send part of the branch of 

 a young tree, planted only last autumn, as a specimen of 

 the state of my trees, and of the disease by which they 

 are affected. From this, too, you will be enabled to see 

 the nature of the disease in its several stages, at least in 

 three of them ; for " the last 6tage of all, which ends 

 this sad eventful history/' is almost like the wind-up 

 of poor human nature, " sans everything." The 

 specks, like pustules, which you will perceive on the 

 bough, about one-third of the way up, exhibit the 

 first visible symptoms of disease ; in time this speck 

 spreads into blotches, eating its way into the fibre, as 

 may be seen by incising the part ; the next form assumed 

 resembles that of a running sore, I. e., an issue of gum 

 from the wound ; lastly, death ensues. I need scarcely 

 say that during this progress the leaves become the seat 

 of attack from aphides ; they, in their turn, being 

 attended by their ever-constant nurses, the ants. My 

 garden is surrounded by a capital wall, covering about an 

 acre, the aspect good and thoroughly open, on a plain, 

 not absolutely low, though relatively somewhat so, in com- 

 parison with the neighbouring hills ; these latter are not, 

 however, by any means close to the garden, nor can I per- 

 ceive one circumstance connected with the situation ca- 

 pable of accounting for the unhealthiness of the Peach and 

 Nectarine-trees. The soil naturally is clay, not very 

 stiff, approaching to clayey loam ; the greater part having 

 been burnt, and other means having been taken to 

 lighten it, it works freely and well. On my coming to 

 the place three years ago I found the trees ( I speak al- 

 ways of the Peaches and Nectarines) old and straggling, 

 and what would generally be termed worn out, and I 

 have since learned from my predecessor's friends, that 

 for the first three or four years the trees did very well, 

 and bore tolerably ; but that afterwards they began to 

 go off, and showed symptoms of decay. My first 

 measures to counteract the evil were to open the borders, 

 and at the depth of about one spit to lay a foundation of 

 compost cement, sloping outwardly, and terminating 

 transversely with a drain. I then planted young trees, 

 the roots near the surface. This was the work of the 

 autumn and winter of 1842. The result last summer 

 was far from satisfactory, still not so bad as appearances 

 indicate at present. Desirous of persevering in what I 

 conceived to be a right course, I removed more trees 

 last autumn, replacing them with young ones from a 

 distance of seven miles : from one of these the specimen 

 I now send was cut. Perceiving, when the old trees 

 were removed, that they had but little root, at the sug- 

 gestion of my gardener I removed much of the old soil, 

 which was burnt clay, and substituted good virgin loam, 

 free from a particle of clay. Of all my trees, those planted 

 last year in the new mould decidedly exhibit the worst 

 appearance; and having gone to the expense of having 

 my wall newly pointed, I have now for my trouble and 

 cost the melancholy spectacle of a long range of brick- 

 work, studded with young trees, which exhibit every ap- 

 pearance of premature decay. I own I am baffled both 

 for a cause and a cure. The only possible course 

 to pursue which now suggests itself to my mind, is to 

 try the experiment of applying different sorts of mould 

 to several different trees, varying the application in 



raents, however, must necessarily abide the approach of 

 autumn and winter, and in the mean time I tremble for 

 the fate of my trees. Gloucestershire is my county; 

 the situation of ray house a few miles from Cheltenham. 

 — Omikron. [We publish this curious case, in the hope 

 that it may excite the attention and elicit the opinions 

 of some of our correspondents. It is clear that the soil 

 is not in fault. The climate will not account for the 

 case. It is worthy of remark, too, that the trees planted 

 last autumn are already diseased. The malady cannot, 

 then, have been caught in " Ornikron V garden. Judging 

 from the specimen sent us, we should say that the mis- 

 chief is all traceable to ill-ripened wood, insufficiently 

 pruned, and suddenly transferred to a hot situation. 

 The shoot sent us is green, and by no means firm. It 

 looks like the upper part of the branch of a tree from 

 the open quarter of some nursery. When the Peach is 

 grown fast, in shady places, its wood wants the hardness 

 and dark red colour that are natural to it, and becomes 

 filled with imperfectly elaborated sap. If a plant in 

 such a state is transferred to a south wall, some change, 

 both chemical and organic, takes place, and the over- 

 abundant sap finds its way through the surface in the 

 form of gum. causing wounds which rapidly mortify. 

 The remedy in that case is to cut the wood back even 

 further than ordinary, so as to have nothing more than 

 what is thoroughly ripe. " Omikron " would do well to 

 consult a paper on the Peach, by Mr. Knight, read to 

 the Horticultural Society, May 6, 1817 — and alio pub- 

 lished in his " Horticultural Papers," p. 227. If he can, 

 by laying his branches in thin, contrive to get his wood 

 well ripened, and in winter-pruning will cut away all that 

 is not so, he will, we think, get rid of his trouble.] 



Grafting Fuchsias. — Your readers may exercise their 

 taste in combining very opposite groups of blossoms, if 

 they take the present opportunity of grafting or inarch- 

 ing the strong young growing shoots of the Fuchsia. For 

 this purpose a warm moist atmosphere is necessary. I 

 find the readiest mode is to select two plants, and within 

 three inches of the heads to cut away half the thickness 

 of the shoots, extending about 1 j inch ; the two mutilated 

 heads are firmly bound with soft bast, and the intended 

 scion is then nearly severed just below the junction; 

 within three days the scion may be cut clean through, 

 and no check to its growth will be perceived ; the head 

 of the stock is now removed, the scion takes the lead, 

 surrounded by laterals of the other variety. The best 

 stocks are the strong growing kinds, as Fulgens, Cor- 

 mackii, &c. ; this latter, in combination with Conspicua 

 arborea, is very effective. — M., Dcptford. 



The Robin. — In the latter end of the year 1841 a 

 robin flew into the cottage of Mrs. Wilkinson, in the 

 neighbourhood of Overton, near Lancaster ; being 

 winter season, it was kindly treated, and did not offer to 

 leave its quarters ; it was without hesitation accommo- 

 dated with bed and botrd. When spring time came, 

 it resumed its free denizenship of the air, but not un- 

 gratefully, for it was always seen about her garden, and 

 even came fluttering around its kind mistress when she 

 went out. Being the male bird, it chose for itself a 

 mate ; a nest was built in a hawthorn bush, wherein 

 four little ones were reared ; some time after they were 

 fairly on the wing, a gentle tapping was heard one even- 

 ing at Mrs. Wilkinson's casement window. On being 

 opened, to her surprise,' in flew her favourite robin, with 

 his family. They all received a hearty welcome, and 

 remained there until the spring. This conduct has been 

 pursued every year since, to the present year ; and no 

 less than eight robins have taken up their winter quar- 

 ters in Mrs. Wilkinson's kitchen. If the window be 

 not opened, the old robin will perch upon the latch of 

 the door, and, fluttering with his wings, jingle it until he 

 is let in ; he perches upon her shoulder or her hand, if 

 she holds it out to him, and will sing his merry song at 

 if in grateful acknowledgment of the hospitality shown 

 to his co-mates and himself. This fact is well known to 

 every one in the neighbourhood. — S. G. Garstang. 



Charcoal. — The following method of making charcoal, 

 Which I have adopted with complete success, may be 

 useful to some of your amateur readers, who, like myself, 

 want the article, and can find nobody in the neighbour- 

 hood who understands how to make it. I cut up a 

 quantity of wood into billets of about 18 inches long, and 

 placed three or four wheelbarrowfuls upon a handful of 

 straw and a few dry sticks, and set fire to the straw. As 

 the wood began to ignite I surrounded it with sods from 

 the side of the road, tolerably dry, and common road 

 dirt (throwing on the latter in lumps, so as not com- 

 pletely to exclude the air), until the wood was covered 

 all over. Soon the whole heap was burning together, 

 and as the fire made its appearance through the dirt, or 

 rather as the dirt became burnt, I threw on more dirt. 

 At night I added as much as I thought v;ould be burned 

 by the morning, and thus the heap was kept burning for 

 several days. Upon clearing away the burnt earth I 

 found the wood I had used for lighting the fire com- 

 pletely charred, but not a stick consumed. Thus, I have 

 accomplished two objects by one operation : I have 

 made charcoal as well as a regular professor of that art ; 

 and have also prepared a capital compost of burnt earth 

 and sods, which I intend to enrich by dosing it with 

 liquid manure. I have made several heaps since I first 

 made the attempt, and have not failed in a single 

 instance. The wood I used is Black Poplar, as I hap- 

 pened to have a quantity by me, which was 5^/. 



winter. I also gave the preference to this mate 

 having read lately in the Chronicle, tn^t the lighted 

 wood made the best charcoal. — John Loicder. 



Seedling Pelargoniums.— In " The Gardener and 



